Choreography / 1956

Lavish Escapade

"Lavish Escapade" was part of a trilogy (with "Untitled Solo" and "Changeling") of which Cunningham was “concerned with the possibility of containment and explosion being instantaneous.” All three were choreographed to piano pieces by Christian Wolff. The choreography followed the structure of the music. "Lavish Escapade" was made with the same principle as "Untitled Solo", which Cunningham characterized as “sometimes in the smallest of fragments and at others in large ways only.” The gamuts included movements not only for various parts of the body (e.g. “sitting on derrière and moving by haunches”) but for the head and face as well—eyes, eyebrows, mouth—derived from sources such as Noh masks, eye exercises, and Indian dance books. Although he insisted that the dramatic quality of the dances in the trilogy was inherent in the movement, his notes divide this solo into four sections whose titles suggest a dramatic progression: I. Hatch scheme II. Reset stage III. The Trial IV. Dénouement Elsewhere in his notes the phrase “under duress” and the word “necromancer” appear. Cunningham himself designed and knitted the costume, a kind of union suit in multicolored stripes with one very long leg. In a film excerpt included in Charles Atlas’s film "A Lifetime Of Dance," Cunningham is seen wearing this costume and perhaps performing movements from the solo.

Details

Premiere Date

May 18, 1956

Premiere Venue

University of Notre Dame

Premiere Location

South Bend, IN

Music

Christian Wolff, For Piano II

Costumes

Merce Cunningham

Duration

10 minutes (est.)

Original Cast

Merce Cunningham

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